Alien Storm (28 page)

“What about backup, sir?” one of the pilots asked. “The Russians have a base in Siberia.”

Rachel shook her head. “All our communications have been blocked since we received Sarah Williams's message. Makarov has technology in advance of our own.”

Again there was a murmur around the room.

“Okay, okay,” Rachel Andersen said, leaning over the podium. “Enough talking about it. Your primary objective is to protect the
Ulysses
and take out that airborne force. Secondary objective is Makarov. We need to take control of that beacon or level the tower.”

Commander Craig nodded. “Any questions?” There was silence. “Okay, get to your ships!”

Makarov kneeled before the spinning meteorite fragment in the centre of the chamber. The light glowed brighter, indicating connection with the Entity.

“Master. The storm is only hours away. Our time is at hand.”

The voice of the alien boomed in reply, “Yet you have not neutralized the threat against us. Sarah Williams is not in your control.”

“She evaded my robowolves on the ice—”

“You attempted to kill her against my orders!” the Entity interrupted harshly. “I was clear she is not to be harmed yet.”

Makarov bowed his head a little lower. “I do not understand, master. Why do you need this girl—”

“Do not try to second-guess my intentions,” the alien snapped. “You are alive only because of my grace.”

“Forgive me, master,” Makarov whispered, feeling the power drain from him. He had to place one hand against the floor to stop from pitching forwards. “I beg you, give me the strength to defeat our enemies one last time. Let me prove myself worthy to lead.”

“Sarah Williams is coming after you. She will try to take control of the beacon and deflect the storm.”

Makarov looked into the beam, eyes wide. “Give me the power to defeat them, master!”

The Entity laughed. “Touch the beam, Makarov. Drink of my deepest powers. But be warned, you might not like the result.”

For once, Makarov hesitated as he reached out with his hand. The light around the meteorite was intensely bright – like staring into the sun. Then he looked at the skin on the back of his hand – wrinkled and white, ancient. He plunged his fingers into the beam…

And was engulfed by the pain of thousands of volts of energy passing through him, stronger than anything he had experienced before. Makarov screamed and looked down at his arm. Blue fire leaped towards his shoulder and surrounded his body. He screamed again.

“Master!”

And then it was over. Makarov staggered back from the beam, blinking rapidly. He felt different. Looking around, he caught a glimpse of his reflection in one of the computer screens: wide, staring eyes like reflective discs; elongated arms with ten-centimetre long claws protruding from his fingers; a gaping mouth. He no longer looked human. He looked like something new. Something…

Alien.

“Master, what have you done to me?” he said quietly.

“I have made you stronger,” the Entity's voice replied from the light. “Ready to rule our new world. Do you not feel strong, earthling?”

Makarov flexed his clawed fingers and felt the power coursing through them. Every millimetre of his body was now in tune with the alien force.

He grinned.

“I
am
strong, master.”

“Then make ready,” the Entity replied. “The final battle is at hand.”

33

The dawn brought a sky the colour of gunmetal and a watery sun shining across the desolate plain. It also brought a team of forty robowolves, tearing through the snow towards the miners' village. They ran as a pack – a diamond-shaped formation moving with unstoppable ferocity to destroy every last living thing in their path.

Crouched against the side of the mountains behind the village, Yuri watched through a set of ancient binoculars as the last of the robowolves entered the village.

“Do you think that's all of them?” Sarah asked at his side.

“I think it's enough,” Yuri replied, looking round at her. The girl showed no signs of her ordeal from the night before. “How are you feeling?”

“Like I could take on the world today,” she replied. “Let's do it.”

Yuri produced a black box from his side. The box was a trigger and linked to the C4 explosives they'd placed around the village below. Yuri wound the priming handle on the side of the box several times and passed it to Sarah.

“I'll let you do the honours,” he said, before glancing round at Alex, who was also crouched on the hillside. “You might want to cover your ears. This is going to be noisy.”

Sarah pressed the red button on the top of the box and the explosives Yuri had placed around the village under the cover of darkness exploded. The buildings were ripped apart, burning splinters of wood flying high into the morning air. Simultaneously, C4 charges buried under the central courtyard overturned the earth itself with a deafening
wumpf
. Amidst all of this, the metal bodies of the forty robowolves were cast about, torn limb from limb and then melted in the extreme heat.

Yuri gave a whistle. “Well, there goes the neighbourhood.”

Lowering the binoculars, Sarah looked at him. “Now let's go do the same to Makarov's house.”

At the Russian's side, Laika gave a low growl, showing her readiness for the fight. Yuri grinned and said, “It will be a pleasure.”

“Hey!” Robert yelled, hammering his fist on the door to the cell. “Louise is sick! You have to get her some help!”

After a moment he heard footsteps on the other side. He looked round to the others.
They're coming. You all know what to do
.

The door slid open to reveal Ilya, accompanied as always by a pair of robowolves. Through the windows behind him, the dawn was breaking, hard and clear.

“What is it?” Ilya demanded, looking into the cell.

Robert indicated Louise, who made a good show of clutching her stomach on her bunk. “She's been sick all night and it's getting worse. You have to take her to—”

“Don't listen to him!” Octavio interrupted, jumping up and pushing Robert to one side. He looked at the ceiling and spoke to the concealed microphones hidden there. “It's part of an escape plan, master! A trick!”

Ilya backed away from the doorway and the two robowolves moved in to block any attempt at escape.

“Damn you, Octavio!” Robert hissed, advancing towards the older boy, who jumped back towards the door.

“I'm not going to let you or your sister get us all killed,” Octavio protested. “You'll all thank me for this in the end!”

Before Robert could respond, Ilya held his hand up. “Stay back! All of you!” He then turned to Octavio. “The master wants you to come to the 153rd floor.”

Breathing a sigh of relief, Octavio moved to the door and squeezed past the robowolves. Inside the cell, Robert and the others looked across at him accusingly.

“Are you sure this is what you want to do, brother?” Nestor asked grimly.

Octavio looked at him over the backs of the robowolves. “You know it is.”

“Then do it.”

Taking a step away, Octavio raised his hands towards the robots and reached out with his mind. Snatching the robowolves into the air before they could react, he whipped his arms around and they flew towards the window at high speed. The robowolves smashed through the toughened glass and pitched out over the side of the building. The corridor flooded with howling wind. For a second, Ilya watched, open-mouthed at what had just happened. Then he looked round at Octavio.

“You're going to regret that,” he said dangerously.

“No he's not,” Louise replied, jumping through the doorway and throwing Ilya back against the wall with the power of her mind. The long-haired kid's head took a heavy hit and he slid down to the floor, unconscious. Nestor, Robert and Wei emerged from the cell as doors at either end of the corridor slid open. Robowolves tore towards them from both directions.

“Take care of them!” Nestor yelled above the air that was rushing in through the shattered window.

Wei stepped forward and let loose a stream of fire from his hands that engulfed three of the robowolves. As they ran through the flames, Octavio snatched them up and sent them hurtling through the hole in the side of the building, still burning. Nestor turned his attention to the two attackers approaching from the other direction. He sent a blast of tornado force air down the corridor towards them. As the glass side of the Spire exploded outwards, the robowolves were tossed helplessly into space. Louise ran to the edge and watched as they arced through the air to their destruction far below.

“Cool,” she said.

“Good work, Octavio,” Nestor said, slapping his brother on the shoulder. “You were born to be a double agent.”

“You have to get out of here,” Ilya said weakly from his position on the floor. “He'll be sending more robowolves for you. He has an army.” They all looked round at the Russian boy. The blankness in his expression was gone now and they sensed that once more the control Makarov exerted over him had been broken. Robert kneeled before him.

“Find the other workers from the Spire,” Robert ordered. “Free them from Makarov's control if you can and take them to the sleeper chamber. We'll be there to help after we've taken care of Makarov.”

Ilya nodded and pulled himself to his feet. “Thank you,” he said as he ran in the direction of the stairs. Robert looked round at the others.

“Makarov is on the 153rd floor. That's where we need to get to.”

“Easier said than done,” Octavio shouted above the wind. “Makarov isn't just going to let us walk up there.”

Nestor nodded. “I know. But we have to reach that beacon. Or tear this tower apart getting there.”

As they ran out of the corridor, Robert stole a look across the snowy landscape and thought he made out the shape of buildings on the other side of the distant mountains.

He hoped Sarah arrived soon.

34

Sarah held on for dear life as the tiny supply plane from the village was buffeted around by the harsh winds that swept the empty Chukotkan landscape. She looked round and saw Alex looking a little green in the back seat. Beside her, Yuri controlled the small aircraft expertly, eyes locked on the Spire as it loomed ahead of them.

“No more robowolves,” Sarah said, scanning the empty plain below them anxiously. “Do you think we destroyed them all when we blew up the village?”

Yuri said, “Don't underestimate Makarov's resources. Last time I was inside the Spire he was building an army. It looked like he was gearing up to take on the world. I just hope Laika is okay down there.” The robodog had been too large to fit inside the small aircraft, so Yuri had sent her towards the Spire on foot – something that she had not been happy about. Seeing the Russian's concern for his pet, Sarah gave him a reassuring pat on the arm.

Ahead, the Spire stood alone amidst the flatness of the ice desert. There was no sign of HIDRA. No hovercopters or jets in the air. Sarah realized that it was up to them – they were the last chance to take out Makarov before the storm hit.

A glass section on the upper levels of the Spire exploded outwards.
They watched as fire burst forth
from the gap and a body was thrown out of the tower. No one breathed for a second as the dark object fell the length of the Spire, hit the angled glass of the lower levels and spun off.

“It's just a robowolf,” Alex said with relief as the body hit the ground.

Sarah nodded. “Looks like Robert and the others are keeping Makarov distracted up there. We need to get inside as quickly as possible.”

“Where's this landing strip you were talking about?” Yuri asked. The Spire was getting so close now it filled the front window of the plane.

“Hold us level around the middle of the tower,” Sarah ordered and Yuri pulled left on the joystick, sending the plane round in a wide circle of the Spire.

Sarah closed her eyes and reached out with her mind. This close, the psychic energy used to power the Spire's computer systems shone like a star, incredibly clear to her now that her mind's eye had been opened. She sensed the sleepers in the caskets, the meteorite fragment spinning in its chamber, robowolves in their dozens rushing towards one of the upper levels.
Focus
, Sarah told herself. The amount of information threatened to overwhelm her brain. However, she managed to ride the stream, finding the thing she was looking for: the controls for the landing strip on the 70th floor. She sent an order to simultaneously open the door and extend the strip.

“Something's happening!” Yuri exclaimed and she opened her eyes. As the plane came round for another pass, they made out the large section of wall sliding open on the side of the Spire. Yuri's eyes widened as the landing strip began to extend outwards like a long finger.

“Unbelievable! You're telling me Makarov lands a plane on that?”

“Just take us down fast!” Sarah exclaimed. “Before Makarov overrides the runway control!”

“This plane is not designed to stop in such a short distance!” Yuri protested. “Even if I manage to land on that strip, we'll crash right into the far wall of the tower.”

Sarah gave him a hard look. “What choice do we have?”

The Russian thought it over for a second, before giving his head a shake. “Oh well, we've all got to die sometime. Brace yourself for a bumpy landing.”

With that, he pulled back on the joystick, sending the plane into a climb away from the building, before bringing it back round in a wide arc. Through the windscreen, Sarah watched the Spire come into line as Yuri pushed forward on the stick, putting them on an angle of descent towards the runway. Then he did something unexpected – he reached down and killed the plane engine. With a sputter, the propeller came to a stop.